Big News for Fall 2025
How We Got Here: The Origin Story of Mindful Studio
Photo: Jess Lowry, Founder of Mindful Studio
Dear friends,
I'm so grateful to have you on this journey with me. Whether you've just discovered Mindful Studio or have been following since the beginning, I wanted to pause and share the story of how it all began — and why this fall marks a new chapter in what we're building together.
Life Design for Job Seekers begins October 6th
Website redesign is underway!
Early bird registration is open for facilitator cohorts starting in January 2026
But before we dive into what's ahead — let's take a moment to look back.
Photo: Jess Lowry facilitating a 5-Day Design Sprint workshop in 2018
Career Deconstruction
In 2014, I spent a day reflecting on the past decade of my career because I wanted clarity on the next ten years. I recreated my resume in Post-it notes on a wall in my apartment, trying to see the bigger picture. I wasn't just looking at job titles or company names—I was exploring patterns. What energized me? What drained me? What kinds of problems did I love solving?
That process of affinity diagramming helped me see what I'd been undervaluing. I realized that I thrived when facilitating creative workshops and applying design thinking to tackle complex, messy challenges. I loved working as a UX designer, but I wasn't passionate about making things pixel-perfect. I cared more about how people worked together, how systems shaped behavior, and how design could lead to real change. That insight became a turning point.
Photo: Jess Lowry facilitating a collaborative workshop for Experian in 2018
After my daughter was born in 2015, I worked as a freelancer. I joined Bloomberg's iTeam program as a Design Thinking Coach, where I facilitated workshops for municipal innovation leaders from around the world. I then helped Voltage Control facilitate several 5-day Design Sprints with SOCOM to explore how emerging technology might shape the future of conflict zones. I participated in a multi-city workshop series with Experian, helping them facilitate collaborative working sessions with their key clients. I've held several other roles since (including leading 2 UX Design Bootcamps at General Assembly), assisting global teams in integrating insights into their decision-making processes. And throughout all of this, the same questions kept surfacing:
How do we create meaningful change in complex systems? And how do we design for people, not just products?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I enrolled in a multidisciplinary degree in Design Thinking for Organizational Renewal at Penn State. I also designed method cards for continuous learning, which I sold on Etsy. And I started practicing mindful learning daily, as defined by Ellen J. Langer, as "an ongoing process of actively creating new categories, remaining open to novel information, and maintaining an implicit awareness of multiple perspectives, rather than being stuck in rigid, old categories or single viewpoints."
This journey—part reflection, part experimentation, part re-alignment—laid the foundation for what would eventually become The Mindful Method™: a framework for designing change with clarity, compassion, and conscious intention.
Image: The Mindful Method page from The Life Design Workbook
From Tech Strategy to Transformative Design
Mindful Studio was born quietly in 2023, while I was still working at Amdocs Studio in Austin (formerly Stellar Elements). Amdocs is a global software and services company that powers customer experience for telecom, media, and financial services companies in over 85 countries. Its creative consulting arm (Amdocs Studio) delivers innovation strategy, UX design, and product development for Fortune 500 clients.
Image: Storyboard Jess Lowry created for Etisalat’s EASE stores.
As a Strategy Director, I led innovative projects in autonomous retail, AI-powered employee services, and logistics. But I saw a familiar pattern: while companies had no shortage of tech talent, they struggled with adoption — not from a systems perspective, but a human one. In the past, consultancies filled a talent gap. Now, companies can hire experienced designers and researchers in-house. AI has commoditized digital build work. What's scarce isn't execution — it's transformation.
The next wave of consultants is facilitators of change, not factories of deliverables.
That's the space Mindful Studio occupies: helping people navigate uncertainty, align with purpose, and lead change with clarity — from the inside out.
The Birth of The Mindful Method™
In 2024, a case study I wrote was published in a peer-reviewed academic poster by HCI International on Springer: "Human-Centered Organizational Renewal: Transformative Design Science in Action." I had created a repeatable structure for personal and organizational change rooted in:
Behavioral science
Somatic awareness
Systems thinking
Prototyping mindsets
Photo: Jess Lowry and her academic poster at the 2024 HCI International Conference in DC.
This evolved into The Mindful Method—a six-part framework that has guided workshops for leaders, teams, job seekers, and creatives across various sectors.
The Life Design Workbook & Practice Series
In early 2025, I released The Life Design Workbook — a 200+ page resource with 18 self-guided exercises to design a life aligned with your values, energy, and priorities. The workbook became the foundation for the Life Design Practice Series, and soon after, the Facilitator Certification Program launched.
Image: Table of Contents of The Life Design Workbook
Today, Mindful Studio is a growing ecosystem of:
Zoom-based programs for job seekers, creatives, and leaders
Custom workshops for organizations and change agents
Strategic partnerships across wellness, education, and tech
A global community rethinking what it means to design a meaningful life
What's Launching This Fall
Life Design for Job Seekers: A 6-Part Practice Series
This isn't a resume workshop or another job board. It's a transformational process that helps you:
Rebuild confidence after burnout or layoffs
Use experimentation to test new career paths
Translate your existing skills into roles that offer more stability and joy
Explore entrepreneurship or consulting as AI reshapes traditional employment
Participants explore all six elements of The Mindful Method™ — from mindset to experimentation to evolution — supported by certified facilitators. Whether you're in transition, feeling stuck, or exploring what's next, this series offers tools to help you design a career that fits your future.
Facilitator Certifications (2026 cohorts now open)
Life Design Certification – for coaching individuals through change
Mindful Method Certification – for leading organizational transformation
Website Redesign Launching Soon
Our new site will make it easier to join programs, download free tools, and connect with facilitators.
Thank You for Being Part of This
Mindful Studio began with a belief that growth doesn't have to feel like burnout — and that change can be designed. Thanks for helping us prove that belief true.
I'm so glad to have you in this community.
With gratitude,
Jessica Lowry
Founder, Mindful Studio
P.S. Curious about the Post-It Resume activity that started it all? Read the latest Substack article: Resume Wall + Growth Mindset.
A Summer of Small Experiments Begins
What Happens When You Design Your Life Instead of Drifting Through It?
This summer, a quiet revolution begins—one small experiment at a time. A series of subtle shifts that culminate in something profound. That's the spirit behind our biggest launch yet at Mindful Studio. It's not about overhauling your life overnight. It's about stacking deliberate, gentle experiments until the landscape changes.
What Happens When You Design Your Life?
This summer, a quiet revolution begins—one small experiment at a time.
Malcolm Gladwell once described transformation not as a tidal wave but as a tipping point—a series of subtle shifts that culminate in something profound. That's the spirit behind our first official launch at Mindful Studio. It's not about overhauling your life overnight. It's about stacking deliberate, gentle experiments until the landscape changes.
The Life Design Practice Series:
"We learn who we are by testing hypotheses, not reciting mantras."
In behavioral science, there's a simple truth: you don't think your way into a new life—you live your way into new thinking. Our new Life Design Practice Series was built on that premise. It's a guided journey through The Mindful Method, a six-element framework that blends mindfulness, behavioral research, and design thinking.
It's not therapy. It's not hustle culture. It's a practice—for your life.
Each session invites you to slow down, notice patterns, run small experiments, and uncover meaning through action.
In a world addicted to certainty, this is a practice of curious ambiguity.
Want to Host a Life Design Session in Your Space?
What if your space helped people feel more like themselves?
We’re inviting local leaders, wellness spaces, and community organizations to host a Life Design Practice Session.
One-hour guided experience
No setup required
We bring all materials
Flexible scheduling (virtual or IRL)
Perfect for coworking groups, creative teams, or community orgs.
Let’s make it easy to feel grounded again, contact us today!
Facilitator Training Begins In August
"Leadership, at its core, is the courage to go first."
Why do some people become change agents while others stay frozen? According to Ron Heifetz, adaptive leadership begins when you stop solving problems for others—and start helping them solve their own.
Our Facilitator Certification kicks off this July for those ready to guide others through the Life Design process. It's not about being an expert. It's about becoming skilled in presence, practice, and permission-giving.
Perfect for coaches, educators, team leads, and therapists who are done with burnout and ready to lead differently.
The Life Design Workbook—Now on Amazon
"Writing is thinking. Thinking is noticing."
Some tools change lives not because they offer answers but because they ask better questions.
The Life Design Workbook is that kind of tool—a companion for everyday experimentation.
Use it solo, with friends, or inside The Change Lab to track micro-shifts in thought, energy, and action.
Now available in paperback or Kindle format.
Stories of Small Experiments With Big Impact
We're sharing them weekly on Instagram:
A dog walk that became a revelation.
A quiet decision that rewrote a career path.
A dinner table question that led to a decade-long pivot.
Follow us on Instagram to see how real people are using Life Design to make meaning—and momentum.
Reels, reflections, and #LifeDesignInPractice
Because clarity isn't found. It's created. One small experiment at a time.
Join the Practice. Lead the Shift.
